Two Lovers

Brooklynite Leonard (Phoenix) is torn between family friend Sandra (Shaw), whom his parents want him to marry, and volatile new neighbor Michelle (Paltrow). Leonard falls in love with Michelle despite the fact that she is being kept by a married man. Gray, known for hard-edged, tough-guy themes, keeps things dark but deeply sensitive in this effectively moody character study of love, loss and the struggle between. Sadly this excellent second collaboration between writer/director Gray and Phoenix (The Yards) could be the last if Phoenix follows through on his claim of trading acting for, a-hem, rapping.